[q8canuck]

I think the Q6 owners that had exposure to other luxury tech heavy cars are the ones voicing the most criticism and rightly so. Audi is way behind in their software and even some hardware. If you are coming from a car with obsolete or missing tech the Q6 feels like a spaceship. Until of course you exercise the tech features and find them buggy, unusable or just poorly designed. I think Audi needs a management change just as must as a software group change and it can’t happen soon enough.

I really appreciate the brutal honesty that Hppy29 shares about his experiences and hope he continues to do so. An informed and critical customer base may translate into lost sales for Audi causing them to eventually get their house in order.

 

[Hppy29]

Thanks for the post and feedback, but to be clear when I use other cars I am using comparable in price or what users have come from/ based on previous experiences. This is an electric car that uses connectivity to get the best from the car and yet one of the biggest issues is connectivity.

Going back to the original post, we were told that the car would have OTA updates, they just omitted that it wouldn't be a full system update, and those that were told that were mis-sold a car.

But even the OTA updates on the MMI are such a mess, every time you get an MMI update it has an impact on the user experience or how the car works. They could and should make simple moves to omit these customer niggles such as a splash screen informing you that a new update has been downloaded and you must reboot the MMI. I find it frustrating that they can give release notes for the theme store but not something that may affect your charing or alarms going off. So even if they could deliver a full OTA can you imagine the mess we would all be in.

An OTA update can not and will not fix the inconsistency of issues that users face on the Q6, until they (Audi) recognise and acknowledge what is causing the issues. They have moved on leaving some Q6 owners with problematic software (charging, consumption and features), never mind the mechanical issues customers face.

As for my post, I try and fill the gaps and give a realistic account of the Q6/SQ6 that Audi seem unable to do, we already have far too many readers/posters who feel trapped with their Q6 and wish they had chosen another car. Now this is all subjective, but at least here sharing experiences good and bad shows the inconsistencies of the Q6 and even sometimes what people like.

And as a point there's around 140 used Q6 cars for sale as of June 2025 on Audi UK

 

[q8canuck]

The Q6 and SQ6 are not exactly flying off the lots in Canada. My dealer has several that have not moved for months. The early adopters have one and some are dumping them due to problems and dealer inability to fix. What I also find troubling is the major depreciation that a used one has. Even a few months old low mileage Q6 trade-in is obscenely discounted. I suspect all EV trade-in’s suffer the same fate.

It also seems that every breathless competitive announcement of new tech or higher range has produced classic buyer analysis paralysis. For many reasons maybe a shift is coming resulting in plummeting EV adoption rates. This would explain the commensurate budget increases by major manufacturers towards hybrid powertrain development.

While this is indeed sad for our air quality some of these companies are fighting for their survival in an increasingly fickle marketplace. Interesting times we live in for sure.

 

[GoGoGriffster]

Thanks for the post and feedback, but to be clear when I use other cars I am using comparable in price or what users have come from/ based on previous experiences. This is an electric car that uses connectivity to get the best from the car and yet one of the biggest issues is connectivity.

Going back to the original post, we were told that the car would have OTA updates, they just omitted that it wouldn't be a full system update, and those that were told that were mis-sold a car.

But even the OTA updates on the MMI are such a mess, every time you get an MMI update it has an impact on the user experience or how the car works. They could and should make simple moves to omit these customer niggles such as a splash screen informing you that a new update has been downloaded and you must reboot the MMI. I find it frustrating that they can give release notes for the theme store but not something that may affect your charing or alarms going off. So even if they could deliver a full OTA can you imagine the mess we would all be in.

An OTA update can not and will not fix the inconsistency of issues that users face on the Q6, until they (Audi) recognise and acknowledge what is causing the issues. They have moved on leaving some Q6 owners with problematic software (charging, consumption and features), never mind the mechanical issues customers face.

As for my post, I try and fill the gaps and give a realistic account of the Q6/SQ6 that Audi seem unable to do, we already have far too many readers/posters who feel trapped with their Q6 and wish they had chosen another car. Now this is all subjective, but at least here sharing experiences good and bad shows the inconsistencies of the Q6 and even sometimes what people like.

And as a point there's around 140 used Q6 cars for sale as of June 2025 on Audi UK

Definitely one of my biggest gripes is the connectivity. And I’ve voiced my opinion on it to Audi Australia and yes they are probably not listening intently enough. If they put a modem in it let us use it or go back to a sim slot where we can put our own in. If other cars are allowed to have lane centering, don’t disable it for those countries.

Would I like better tech, yes. Would I sacrifice tech for usability, yes. I’d rather what I have and not have to put up with the erratic wipers and constant phantom braking.

 

[richyrichy]

Would I like better tech, yes. Would I sacrifice tech for usability, yes. I’d rather what I have and not have to put up with the erratic wipers and constant phantom braking.

I’ve had three Teslas over seven years and never had “phantom braking”. It’s largely FUD and confused drivers, a bit like all the “unintended acceleration” cases that turn out to be people hitting the wrong pedal or mats that interfere with it… Auto wipers are crap though. Although they’re not perfect on my Q8 either.

 

[GoGoGriffster]

I’ve had three Teslas over seven years and never had “phantom braking”. It’s largely FUD and confused drivers, a bit like all the “unintended acceleration” cases that turn out to be people hitting the wrong pedal or mats that interfere with it… Auto wipers are crap though. Although they’re not perfect on my Q8 either.

I don’t know anyone who hasn’t had it. As for mine. Every single trip in the tunnel motorway close to my home I couldn’t use autopilot as at least every km it would phantom brake every time my partner was in the car on a reasonable local drive it would also do it aggressively and start an argument. So definitely no FUD from me….it was reality.

 

[richyrichy]

I don’t know anyone who hasn’t had it. As for mine. Every single trip in the tunnel motorway close to my home I couldn’t use autopilot as at least every km it would phantom brake every time my partner was in the car on a reasonable local drive it would also do it aggressively and start an argument. So definitely no FUD from me….it was reality.

Did you bring it in to get looked at? Makes me wonder if there was a camera or calibration issue.

 

[GoGoGriffster]

I have a Polestar 2 and while it isn’t perfect, it’s dramatically better than the Equinox! My Phone is my key (I haven’t carried a key fob since I brought it home!)… use profiles change automatically when you touch the door handle to unlock it, which move the seats, mirrors, change drive mode settings (including one pedal), and all Android app settings including audio and app layout and Google account. It literally “just works”… I’m very active on the Polestar forums and all the issues you’re seeing are on the newer cars (3 and 4) and they’re getting massive updates to fix them with new updates coming this week for both. We’re also getting a massive update for the 2 later in June to bring us in line with the Volvo modular UI, which is really cool. Despite a few loose edges, color me very impressed with Polestar’s thoroughly user focused design. Much different than GM’s approach which looks like a different committee designed the software for the Google Android, the user profiles and the seat settings and they didn’t talk to one another! At least Google Maps is there, not the crappy nav from the old pre- Android cars, but it feels tacked on and not fully integrated…

Posts were mostly P2s. 3 and 4 were t released when I started researching EVs.

 

[GoGoGriffster]

Did you bring it in to get looked at? Makes me wonder if there was a camera or calibration issue.

Don’t take it in to get looked at. Did the calibration process but didn’t do anything. It stopped after an update but then came back a week or so later.

 

[Jupiter]

Posts were mostly P2s. 3 and 4 were t released when I started researching EVs.

Like he most EVS they had issues when they were new… now they’re rock solid. The software in mine is much more reliable than our ID.4, which still randomly decides to not work correctly occasionally.

 

[Lynton]

Interested to watch the Q3 announcement today and the subsequent YouTuber’s press reviews. Looks like the Q3 is sporting a new set of graphics and a slightly different menu structure.

Gives me hope that we may see something ripple to the Q6. Let me dream!!

 

[tricky13]

Interested to watch the Q3 announcement today and the subsequent YouTuber’s press reviews. Looks like the Q3 is sporting a new set of graphics and a slightly different menu structure.

View attachment 16890

Gives me hope that we may see something ripple to the Q6. Let me dream!!

its using android auto instead of Audis own mmi

 

[Hppy29]

its using android auto instead of Audis own mmi

It is using the same MMI OS as the Q6 MMI, hope they have better luck with the launch software than the Q6 had/has...

 

[sipuncher]

Interested to watch the Q3 announcement today and the subsequent YouTuber’s press reviews. Looks like the Q3 is sporting a new set of graphics and a slightly different menu structure.

View attachment 16890

Gives me hope that we may see something ripple to the Q6. Let me dream!!

I spotted this too and wondered why. I think the A6 and even the new Q5 have the same infotainment as the Q6. You wouldn't create an entirely different user experience for another car released at a similar time just for fun. I wonder what this is based upon therefore? Have they gone down the same variant that the Electric Macan did, is this the next gen that we'll all be getting, or starting to see the future Rivian JV stuff?

 

[Jupiter]

I spotted this too and wondered why. I think the A6 and even the new Q5 have the same infotainment as the Q6. You wouldn't create an entirely different user experience for another car released at a similar time just for fun. I wonder what this is based upon therefore? Have they gone down the same variant that the Electric Macan did, is this the next gen that we'll all be getting, or starting to see the future Rivian JV stuff?

But that’s exactly what they did … it’s all Android under the skin. They’ve just opted not to use Google Maps and the Google Plau Store for some reason

 

[richyrichy]

But that’s exactly what they did … it’s all Android under the skin. They’ve just opted not to use Google Maps and the Google Plau Store for some reason

I would fully expect, knowing Audi, that they have created model-specific builds. It's very unlikely there is one single build that covers Q3, Q5, Q6 etc. Sure they're all on the same base customized version of Android, but I'd expect that's where the similarity stops. Different builds and probably even different teams for different vehicles.

This isn't because it's impossible to have one core build and model-specific features (see Tesla) but because it's much harder, and more complex to pull off, and Audi's software organization is not in the shape to do that kind of engineering. Nor would Audi as a business see the point in investing in this - keeping older vehicles up to date just takes away motivation for people to upgrade to the latest model so I'd expect builds for older vehicles like the Q6 (engineering was finished in 2022/2023) will be in maintenance mode - essential fixes only. Also don't be surprised if they come out with a new build for a facelift (2027?) which will not be backwards compatible.

I'd love to be proved wrong but decades of VAG ownership tells me this aligns best with their philosophy on any kind of upgrade to existing vehicles, and what we have seen of their software prowess.

 

[Braumin]

But that’s exactly what they did … it’s all Android under the skin. They’ve just opted not to use Google Maps and the Google Plau Store for some reason

That reason would be licensing costs sadly.

 

[Hppy29]

That reason would be licensing costs sadly.

It always boils down to money/cost.

 

[Jupiter]

I would fully expect, knowing Audi, that they have created model-specific builds. It's very unlikely there is one single build that covers Q3, Q5, Q6 etc. Sure they're all on the same base customized version of Android, but I'd expect that's where the similarity stops. Different builds and probably even different teams for different vehicles.

This isn't because it's impossible to have one core build and model-specific features (see Tesla) but because it's much harder, and more complex to pull off, and Audi's software organization is not in the shape to do that kind of engineering. Nor would Audi as a business see the point in investing in this - keeping older vehicles up to date just takes away motivation for people to upgrade to the latest model so I'd expect builds for older vehicles like the Q6 (engineering was finished in 2022/2023) will be in maintenance mode - essential fixes only. Also don't be surprised if they come out with a new build for a facelift (2027?) which will not be backwards compatible.

I'd love to be proved wrong but decades of VAG ownership tells me this aligns best with their philosophy on any kind of upgrade to existing vehicles, and what we have seen of their software prowess.

Agreed … exact opposite of Polestar where they have three different vehicle platforms and are working hard to make them all run exactly the same software stack.

 

[q8canuck]

I would fully expect, knowing Audi, that they have created model-specific builds. It's very unlikely there is one single build that covers Q3, Q5, Q6 etc. Sure they're all on the same base customized version of Android, but I'd expect that's where the similarity stops. Different builds and probably even different teams for different vehicles.

This isn't because it's impossible to have one core build and model-specific features (see Tesla) but because it's much harder, and more complex to pull off, and Audi's software organization is not in the shape to do that kind of engineering. Nor would Audi as a business see the point in investing in this - keeping older vehicles up to date just takes away motivation for people to upgrade to the latest model so I'd expect builds for older vehicles like the Q6 (engineering was finished in 2022/2023) will be in maintenance mode - essential fixes only. Also don't be surprised if they come out with a new build for a facelift (2027?) which will not be backwards compatible.

I'd love to be proved wrong but decades of VAG ownership tells me this aligns best with their philosophy on any kind of upgrade to existing vehicles, and what we have seen of their software prowess.

I think you are correct. Development for Q6 was completed long ago. Bug fixes will happen if we are lucky but product platform refreshes are more likely. They want us to buy new vehicles to get the latest features.